[Neutrino]

Looks like nothing will happen with Conservatives in charge. Unless they actually react to the bad publicity.

Lol.

Because when they were in power the liberals shut down Fiera after deaths occurred.

 

[smably]

I mean...

Last year, the Ford government reversed recently enacted protections that would have provided more rights to temp agency workers, including mandating equal pay for temps doing the same work as a permanent employee.

Critics say a key reason companies use temp agencies is because under Ontario law, workplace accidents end up on temp agencies' record at the WSIB — not the client company's. Ontario's previous Liberal government enacted legislation to change this, but failed to create the regulations necessary to enforce it before being booted from power.

The Ford government has not proceeded with the regulations either.

The life and death of Fiera Foods temp worker Enrico Miranda

Coming to Canada was a dream that meant the family could finally be together. That dream ended on the factory floor.

www.thestar.com

 

[GabrielHurl]

Not Fiera - but more of the same

https://twitter.com/x/status/1182236041362714624

 

[Neutrino]

And it took how many years for them to get in action? Hasn't Fiera been slaughtering workers since 1999 or something?

 

[Admiral Beez]

And it took how many years for them to get in action? Hasn't Fiera been slaughtering workers since 1999 or something?

Total of five deaths, IIRC.

 

[Neutrino]

^Right; my point is that @W. K. Lis is needlessly politicizing the tragedy.

 

[Admiral Beez]

^Right; my point is that @W. K. Lis is needlessly politicizing the tragedy.

5 deaths since 1999 is hardly slaughtering, I agree. I imagine far more people are killed on the job in construction and transportation, and yet there's no hyperbole.

Amazon and Facebook Listed Among the Dozen Most Dangerous Workplaces

 

[W. K. Lis]

When there was a death during the construction of the Line 2 extension into Vaughan, they closed it down for MONTHS.

Should be doing the same with private companies like Fiera Foods. Oh wait, it's a private company and they can do no wrong. Never mind.

 

[Admiral Beez]

When there was a death during the construction of the Line 2 extension into Vaughan, they closed it down for MONTHS.

Why? What did they find? Is a months long closure SOP? We need more info for your comment to be of any utility.

 

[Northern Light]

5 deaths since 1999 is hardly slaughtering, I agree. I imagine far more people are killed on the job in construction and transportation, and yet there's no hyperbole.

Amazon and Facebook Listed Among the Dozen Most Dangerous Workplaces

5 deaths at a single work place IS staggering.

There were 72 traumatic workplace deaths in Ontario in 2018. So yes, lots of people die on the job. But its rare that a single employer or location is responsible for more than one such death in any given year, or more than a couple over any extended period.

Fatalities | WSIB By The Numbers

2019 WSIB Statistical Report: By the Numbers

www.wsibstatistics.ca

 

[jje1000]

5 deaths at a single work place IS staggering.

There were 72 traumatic workplace deaths in Ontario in 2018. So yes, lots of people die on the job. But its rare that a single employer or location is responsible for more than one such death in any given year, or more than a couple over any extended period.

Fatalities | WSIB By The Numbers

2019 WSIB Statistical Report: By the Numbers

www.wsibstatistics.ca

Definitely agree- one or two can be chalked up to anomalies, but five? Definitely something wrong with the procedures and workplace culture there.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Definitely something wrong with the procedures and workplace culture there.

It does seem baked into the culture, I agree. And the owner sounds like a royal d#ck, caring only for the dough.

I used to work for a similar firm and the turnover was massive, with anyone who could get out doing so, and the plants filled with desperate TFWs and temps. I don't recall any deaths, but I do recall severed fingers, broken bones and yes the police arriving to investigate several times a year.

 

[rbt]

Why? What did they find? Is a months long closure SOP? We need more info for your comment to be of any utility.

Great questions. The entire York U site was shutdown for about 3 weeks (Oct 11th through Nov 1st).

TTC Subway Construction Activities at York University - Construction resumes on two of five construction sites

Construction for the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension Project is underway. By end of 2017, TTC's newest subway line will offer a modern, safe and reliable transit extension, crossing the municipal boundary between the City of Toronto and The Regional Municipality of York.

www.ttc.ca

The area of highest interest to investigators seemed to resume work shortly after Dec 19th.

TTC Subway Construction Resumes Near Schulich Building

Construction for the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension Project is underway. By end of 2017, TTC's newest subway line will offer a modern, safe and reliable transit extension, crossing the municipal boundary between the City of Toronto and The Regional Municipality of York.

www.ttc.ca

Most of the investigation was to determine fault (including whether current safety rules were sufficient). 1 person died but 5 others were injured (broken legs and that kind of thing)

Ontario Newsroom | Salle de presse de l'Ontario

news.ontario.ca

Ellisdon was the general contractor overseeing the site, the person who died was an employee of Avenue Building Corp, the person running the drilling rig was an employee of Advanced Construction Techniques Ltd., and the person operating the backhoe (removing dirt around the drilling rig) was employed by Anchor Shoring and Caissons Ltd.

Subsequent investigation determined that inadequate site preparation and a soil base unable to withstand the weight and pressure created by the drill rig, combined with a procedure of digging dispersal holes filled with wet material, significantly reduced the ground-bearing capacity of the prepared working surface where the drill rig tracks were located. In addition, the drill rig was operating on a slope greater than allowed within safe parameters. These were the major factors in the tipping of the drill rig.


OHL-FCC GP [EllisDon sub-company for the project] pleaded guilty to failing as a constructor to ensure that safety measures required by the Occupational Health and Safety Act were followed, and was fined $400,000.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Why? What did they find? Is a months long closure SOP? We need more info for your comment to be of any utility.

They closed the Spadina construction project for four months for the investigation. See link.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Protesters occupy Doug Ford’s constituency office to demand stronger protections for temp workers

From link.

Worker advocates occupied Premier Doug Ford’s Etobicoke constituency office Wednesday, demanding stronger protections for temporary help agency workers, after an accident at North York industrial bakery Fiera Foods claimed the life of a 57-year-old father of two.

Police were called to the scene after about seven representatives of the Fight for $15 movement and several unions entered the office on Albion Rd. asking to speak with the premier on the phone, while a group of 30 others set up a barricade outside.

An office staffer who refused to identify herself said she had “zero comment” and asked a Star reporter to leave the building. Ford was in Kenora on Wednesday, where he was making an announcement related to infrastructure.


Enrico Miranda, who had been working at the factory for about five years through a temp agency, was crushed by a machine he was cleaning in September.

He was the fifth temporary employment agency worker to die at Fiera Foods or one of its affiliate plants since 1999.

“There have been five deaths, two of them on Doug Ford’s watch,” said Pam Frache of the Fight for $15 movement. “It’s not too much to save a life.”

Deena Ladd of the Toronto-based Workers Action Centre said “nothing else had worked” in the groups’ efforts to advocate for stronger protections for temp workers.

Last week, labour advocates wrote an open letter to the premier demanding that the provincial government implement the legislation that will make companies using temp agencies financially responsible for workplace deaths and injuries involving temp workers.

“Shockingly, it has been almost two weeks since (Miranda’s) death and yet we have heard nothing from you,” the letter said. “You have chosen to remain silent, despite having the power to implement legislation that could have prevented this tragedy.”

Ontario’s previous Liberal government initiated a measure that would have ensured all companies who use temps are liable for their injuries at the workers’ compensation board, which workers’ advocates have long argued is a key financial incentive to protecting temps.

But the Liberals did not create the regulations necessary to enforce the new law before being booted from power last year. The Ford government has not moved to implement the measure.

The government has also repealed several other temp worker protections, including the right to equal pay for doing the same work as permanent employees.

The Ministry of Labour is currently investigating Miranda’s death. Inspectors who attended the scene issued six health and safety requirements to Fiera, but the ministry refuses to say for what after recently changing its media disclosure policy. The ministry no longer has to reveal documented safety infractions until a full investigation into an employer is complete, a process that can take at least a year.

Fiera’s general counsel David Gelbloom has previously said the company understood “the lasting impact” of the “tragic workplace accident.”

“As a company, we are heartbroken and have been focused foremost on supporting the family and our employees through these first few difficult days. At the same time, we are fully co-operating with Ministry of Labour inspectors as they review the accident.”

Fiera describes itself as “one of North America’s largest suppliers of baked goods.” Its clients include Metro, Costco, Walmart and Dunkin’ Donuts (all have said they planned to address the latest fatality with Fiera.)

In early October, independent Toronto grocer Fiesta Farms announced on its website that it would no longer be purchasing croissants from Fiera Foods.

“As a rule, we tend to keep our politics to ourselves,” their statement said. “But occasionally, like when an issue hits close to home, we need to take direct action.”